He's a country music fan, partial to Luke Bryan, but "I like most country stuff, the old stuff, the new stuff. I'm not a fan of rap, not a fan of techno. I get a lot of that in the dressing room," Smyth said.

Some of the cowboy influence comes from five seasons playing hockey in Texas, the 27-year-old Smyth said.

"But that was me before I got to Texas," he said. He hails from a southern Ontario burg called Wolseley, so small it even escapes Wikipedia.

"We didn't come from a lot," he said. "They said if (my dad) didn't shoot a deer during deer season, we'd be pretty hungry throughout the winter. My dad always hunted, my grandfather always hunted and I followed in their path."

As the Havoc begins the Southern Professional Hockey League playoffs Wednesday night, there's some great familiarity for Smyth -- and there's a target.

The Havoc is playing the Fayetteville FireAntz.

Smyth played all last season for Fayetteville, which didn't qualify for the playoffs then but now comes in as regular-season champion.

"I definitely want to beat them," he said Tuesday morning, sitting on a bench outside the Havoc locker room at the VBC.

As Huntsville's top defenseman, he'll have his hands full. Fayetteville is led by Josh McQuade, the SPHL's leading scorer this year with 79 points, 15 more points than the runner-up.

"I've already been told that's my job, to shut him down," Smyth said. "He's really found his stride this year. If you give him an inch, he'll take a foot."

Huntsville is the 12 city in which Smyth has played since beginning his career in the Ontario Hockey League, a major junior league, in 2002-03.

"We needed a veteran presence on the blue line," Detulleo said. "Obviously Smitty fit that role for us pretty well."

Smyth has followed his older brother's path into pro hockey, with a little less commotion.

There is even a Facebook fan page for Adam "The Punisher" Smyth, Matt's older brother, who has racked up 222 penalty minutes in 63 games for two different teams this year. Matt has been considerably less time in incarceration, with 119 penalty minutes.

It's more than the family connection, though.

"It's the love of the game," Matt Smyth said. "It's fun coming to the rink every day and you're working for an hour a day, if you call it work. It's a game I've played since I was three. I'm getting paid to do something I love to do. As long as I keep getting hired every fall, I'm going to keep doing it."

Smyth and Havoc teammate Mike Gurtler, who was traded from Fayetteville to Huntsville on Feb. 26, aren't the only ones for whom there is some sentimentality in this Huntsville vs. Fayetteville series.

Staci Masa, who now works for CB&S Bank in Huntsville, was on the Fayetteville FireAntz dance team last season. At a postgame event, she happened to meet one of the players and struck up a conversation. There was a quick connection. They began dating.

In May 2014, the dancer and the defenseman, Staci Masa and Matt Smyth, will be married.

The Huntsville Havoc hosts the Fayetteville FireAntz in the opening game of the Southern Professional Hockey League playoffs Wednesday at 7:30 at the Propst Arena of the VBC.

The Havoc, 21-29-6 in the regular season, is the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. Top-seeded Fayetteville (35-18-3) will host game two Thursday at 6:30 (CDT). Game three, if needed, will be Sunday at 6:30 in Fayetteville. The winner advances to meet the winner of the Knoxville-Columbus series.